Kojak
by Heathglen
Summary: Horatio finds an unlikely companion at a murder scene in the form of man's best friend. Rick Stetler is not happy about how Horatio is bending the rules to help his new friend. No ship of any kind. Just a good CSI case.
1. Chapter 1

**Kojak**

The bright Miami sunshine beat down on Horatio Caine as he stood overlooking the latest crime scene. It was still early in the morning, but already the day was proving to be a scorcher. The temperature had been in the 90's all week, and today's crime scene was far enough away from the coast to miss any cooling breeze coming off the water.

A tall balding man came up from behind to stand beside Horatio. "Frank," Horatio said in greeting. "What have we got?"

Frank Tripp pulled his small note book out from inside his tan suit jacket and flipped it open. "The victims name is Henry Walt. He's the owner of the house. It was called in by the weekly maid service. Neighbors don't seem to know too much about him. Say he lived alone, and always drove a brand new BMW. No one seems to know what he did for a living, and no one can recall when they last saw him." Frank close the note book a returned it to his jacket pocket.

Horatio nodded his head and looked around at the dead man's home. It was a large sprawling bungalow with big windows and wide front stoop. The lawn was neatly manicured and the on the right was a driveway bordered with nicely trimmed hedges leading into a double garage. This house said wealth without being superfluous. Horatio had to admit, the place looked classy.

To his right, he spotted Eric Delko padding up the driveway.

"Hey H, I'm not late am I?" Eric said with a grin.

"No you're not. The body is in the living room." Horatio gestured towards the front door. "Calleigh's inside waiting for you."

Eric looked up in surprise. "I thought you said I was on time."

"You are," Horatio answered with a hint of a smile. "But Miss Duquesne was early."

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"Well hey there! I was wondering when you'd decide to show up," quipped Calleigh. She had already started photographing the body when Delko walked in.

"What have I got to do to stop you from showing up early?" Eric said with a grin, "You're making me look bad."

"Sorry, it's just my nature to be eager." Calleigh lifted her camera to her eye to continue her documentation. At her feet the body lay sprawled face down in the middle of a large pool of blood, presumably his own.

"What have you got so far?" Eric asked, donning a pair of latex gloves.

"Well, the M.E.'s not here yet so I haven't been able to get a good look at the body, but if I had to guess I'd say he was stabbed and bled out." Calleigh knelt down and, without touching the body, pointed to a spot on the victim's right side. "This right here looks like a stab wound to me. From the amount of blood, I'm guessing that there are more, probably on his front."

Eric nodded his head in agreement to what she was saying. "But we won't know for sure until the M.E. gets here."

"Well it's a good thing I'm here then." Calleigh and Eric turned and grinned as Alexx Woods strode into the room. She sunk down onto her knees next to the body, carefully avoiding the blood pool. Her hand moved over the body with gentle efficiency. "Alright hun, let's get you turned over." With practiced ease Alexx rolled the body over onto his back. "My goodness, someone sure wasn't happy with you. I count seven stab wounds."

Indeed the body did look a grizzly sight. The man's white shirt was ripped to shreds and was completely saturated with blood. Without hesitation Alexx stabbed a thermometer into the body's right side then held up one of his arms to look at. "Looks like he put up a bit of a fight; look at these slash marks on his forearms. He must have been trying to shield himself from the attack. I'll know more at the post." Gently setting the limp arm aside, Alexx removed the thermometer and glanced at her watch. "His liver temperature puts time of death around two O'clock yesterday afternoon." Sitting back on her heals, Alexx pulled off her latex gloves with a snap. "Well that's it for me. I'll see you two at post."

The wheels of the gurney squeaked quietly has it rolled past Horatio in the front hallway. He stepped into the living room where Calleigh and Delko were continuing to process the scene.

The large room looked rather dim and moody due to the curtains on the windows being drawn. The furniture was rather Spartan, but tasteful. A single black leather couch in front of a flat panel TV, a book self along one of the walls and a round oak coffee table that was bare except for a current TV guide. The largest pool of blood, where the body had lain, was directly behind the couch. The dark hardwood floor was covered in bloody footprints, spatter and smears.

"Looks like the killer wasn't concerned with cleaning up after himself," stated Horatio.

"You're not kidding," replied Delko. "Other then the footprints, I've also got hand smears and gravitational droplets leading away from the victim."

Horatio nodded as he scanned bloody the floor. "Well it shouldn't be too hard to-" Horatio paused as something caught his eye. "Calleigh, what's that in doorway to the kitchen?"

Calleigh looked up from her camera. "I don't know. I haven't made it over there yet. Why? You found something?"

"Possibly." Horatio knelt down by the doorway. "It looks like an animal print."

"An animal?" Delko moved over to wear Horatio was kneeling. "Hey yeah, looks like a dog's print; a big one. There are more in the kitchen too."

"Did anyone report finding a dog?" asked Horatio as he moved into the kitchen. Unlike the dark hardwood, it was easy to pick out the prints marching across the bright linoleum.

"Not that I know of," answered Delko lifting his camera to his eye to get a shot of the print. "Hey Calleigh, could you hand me the scale?"

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Horatio blinked in the bright Florida sunlight. The animal tracks had lead into the backyard with a set of human print accompanying them. Donning his sunglasses, Horatio followed the trail across the stone patio, but stopped when he came to the edge of the lawn. Other then the first step few steps on the neatly manicured grass, the trail virtually disappeared. There were any number of places the dog could have gone, thought Horatio as he scanned the yard. And the prints from the human, were they following the animal? Or was the dog following the person? Or did they walk together? In any case, where did they go? The yard was fenced, and the back gate looked to be closed. Finally, Horatio rested his eye on a small garden shed near the back of the yard.

Striding across the lawn, Horatio reached the shed and slowly, cautiously, released the catch and swung open the oversized door. It was dark inside, but he could make out a few gardening tool and big lawnmower at the back. Taking off his sunglasses, Horatio peered inside for a better look. He heard a slight shuffling move come from the back of the shed. Cocking his head he called softly into the darkness. "Hey there. Are you hiding somewhere back there?" He was answered by a few more sounds of movement. "You can come out. I'm not going to hurt you." A set eyes and ears peeked at him from behind the lawnmower. "Hello there. Come on out." Now a nose joined the eyes and ears over the mower. Thump thump came the unmistakable sound of the dog's tail against the floor. "That's right, come on out." Horatio knelt down and held out his hand. The dog slowly moved out from behind the lawnmower. Horatio smiled when he saw that it was a big German Shepherd. "Come on," he beckoned. "That's a good boy. Come on boy." Slowly, the Shepherd came to Horatio and tentatively licked his out stretched hand a few times.

Now that he was in the light Horatio could see that the dog's paws and muzzle had blood caked on them. There were also a few more gravitational droplets staining the dog's thick brown coat.

Giving the Shepherd's head a few soft pats, Horatio stood up and started to head to the front of the house. After a few steps though, he realized that the dog wasn't with him. The Shepherd was still standing at beside the shed watching him intently. Horatio stop and looked at him. Smiling, he turned his shoulder to the dog and donned his sunglasses. "Come." The dog dutifully followed him towards the side gate.

"Hey Frank. You'd better call animal control." Frank turned to see Horatio come around the side of the house with a German Shepherd at his heels.

"Where did you find him?" asked Frank, nodding his head at the dog.

"He was locked in the garden shed and he's got blood evidence on him."

"Do you think the killer might've put him there?" Frank knelt down gave the dog's ears a scratch.

"Careful Frank, I've got to process him for evidence. As for how he got there, I'm not sure, but he sure didn't lock himself in."

Horatio walked over to where his Hummer was parked and opened up the back hatch. The Shepherd followed suit; keeping his head no less then a foot away from the back of Horatio's knee. Retrieving his kit from the back, Horatio looked around for quite place to process the Shepherd. The scene had calmed down some, but there were still plenty of people around. Detectives were still hunting for witnesses, uniform officers where keeping spectators behind the tape, not to mention his own criminologists working the scene.

With dog in tow, Horatio wandered over to the far side of the lawn and stopped next to the hedge dividing Walt's lawn from the neighbors. He set down his kit and turned to the dog. "Sit." The Shepherd sat at once, keeping his eyes on Horatio. Quickly and efficiently, he began to document the dog, taking photos and clipping off samples of bloody fur. The Shepherd didn't move from his sit position, and never took his eyes off of Horatio. Underneath the blood, he could see that fur on the muzzle was starting to grey. This dog must be getting old. As he continued to run his gloved hands through the dog's fur, Horatio found a collar hidden in the dog's thick ruff. Horatio carefully removed it from around the dog's neck. The tag on the collar read 'KOJAK'. Horatio smiled at the police reference. "Well hello Kojak." The dog's ears twitched at the sound of his name. "I'm Horatio Caine, and you are a very well behaved dog." Kojak blinked at him but didn't move.

"He really is a good dog. Too bad he had such a jackass for an owner." Horatio looked up to see a teenage boy standing on the other side of the hedge.

"And who are you?" Horatio asked, standing up to look that the teenager. The kid looked 16, maybe 17, dark hair and baggy clothes.

"My name's Chris Wright. I live here." The kid jerked a thumb over his shoulder indicting the neighboring house.

"What did you mean about the dog's owner?"

"About him being an ass, you mean? That's just it: Mr. Walt was an ass. He got the dog a maybe a year ago. Said he wanted a guard dog. Anyway, my little sister was really excited about there being a dog next door. She loves animals. So a few days after he gets the dog, she goes over to ask if she can play with him. Mr. Walt just starts yelling at her, saying to never go near the dog ever. Said that it was a vicious dog and tear her apart if she ever set foot on his property again. She was only eight. Who yells at an eight year old kid? She was only asking.'

'But that dogs not vicious, I've never even heard it bark, let alone growl. I think that annoyed Mr. Walt because he was always yelling at the dog and throwing things at it; trying to make it mean. Asshole. He didn't deserve a dog like that."

As the teen wandered away, Horatio turned and looked at Kojak. It was certainly hard to image a dog like this being owned by such a man. But then, if Walt had only gotten him a year ago, then he wouldn't have been the dog's first owner.

Horatio had just finished bagging the collar when he spotted Calleigh heading towards him.

"Frank said you found the dog in the shed. I'm just going around to process it." Calleigh leaned over and gave Kojak a pat. "He's gorgeous. Did you find anything on him?"

Horatio smiled at Calleigh's idea of 'gorgeous'. Kojak's fur was matted with dirt from the shed and his muzzle was coated in blood. "Some blood, and his collar may have some epithelials on it," answered Horatio as he gently pulled the Shepherd's mouth open. "And look at this. He's got some flesh in his teeth."

"You think he may have taken a bite out of our killer?" Calleigh watched as Horatio pick out the sample with a pair of tweezers.

"Maybe," answered Horatio. "Walt doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who feeds his dog steak." He dropped the tiny piece of evidence into a container. "Speaking food, I'm thinking that he's mostly likely been locked up since yesterday. Could you maybe find a container we could put some water in for him?"

"Oh, I don't think we'll need too. Animal control is here. They're just waiting for you to finish."

"Okay, well I'm done now." Horatio removed his gloves and gave Kojak a hard scratch. He smiled as the big Shepherd thumped his tail twice on the ground. "Good boy."

Picking up his kit, Horatio started over to where he saw the Animal Control van was park. "Come Kojak." Kojak followed with his head just behind Horatio's knee.

"Kojak?" asked Calleigh with a smile.

"It was the name on the collar."

"I see," she said with a laugh. "Rather appropriate for a German Shepherd."

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"Is this the dog then?" A man wearing an Animal Control uniform bent down to give Kojak a pat.

"This is him," confirmed Horatio. "Have you got some water for him? I don't think he's had any since yesterday at least."

"Yeah, no problem." The man pulled open the back of the Animal Control van and dug out a large plastic dish and a water bottle. Dumping the water into the dish, he set down in front of Kojak. Kojak sniffed at the dish, and then looked up at Horatio for approval. Horatio smiled and nodded. Instantly the German Shepherd began lapping up the refreshing liquid with gusto.

"That dog sure minds you," commented the AC officer.

"Yes, he'll make some family a great pet," replied Horatio.

"Yeah, it's too bad really." The officer squatted down and started to rub the Shepherd's shoulders.

Horatio looked at the man confused. "How do you mean?"

The officer looked up at him. "Oh, he's great dog, but he's old and the shelters are already overcrowded. He'll probably just be destroyed." The officer scratched the big dog's ears. "It's a real shame too."

Before Horatio could reply, he heard Delko call to him across the lawn. "Hey H!" Horatio walked over to meet him.

"All done?"

"Yeah, Calleigh and I are finished processing the house and she's just about done on the shed. We're going to head back to the lab and see if we can't match some of the prints we got. Did you get anything off the dog?" Horatio didn't reply. "H?"

Horatio watched as the Animal Control officer started to load Kojak into the back of the van. It was just an animal he told himself. Just a well trained animal that had just lost his home and only companion. As he van door swing shut, Horatio's eyes meet the animal's. His blue met soft brown. They were sad, but accepting. Like he knew that he had lost his home and yet had resigned to it. Loss. That was something that Horatio could identify with.

"Wait!" Horatio called out to the Animal control officer. "Wait! You can't take him yet." He jogged over to the van where the officer had just opened the cab door. "That dog is evidence and I can't let you take him yet."

The animal Control officer gave him a quizzical look. "Are you sure? I've never heard of a dog being classified as evidence before."

"I'm sure. Open the back. I'm going to take him." As they walked around to the back of the van Horatio heard Delko come up behind him.

"H? What are you doing?"

Horatio didn't answer as he watched the officer open up the back of the van. Kojak lightly jumped down out of the back and moved to Horatio to give his hand a few appreciative licks.

"Are you sure you want to do this Lieutenant?" asked the officer. "'Cause you could just have the body sent over after he's been euthanized. It's no problem. I could bring him over this afternoon."

"No. No thank you," replied Horatio, putting his hand on top of Kojak's head. "I'll take him with me now."

"Suit yourself." With that the Animal Control officer climbed into the van and pulled away from the crime scene.

"H, what are you doing?" Horatio turn to Delko who was standing right behind him. "We can't book a live animal in as evidence."

"Where does it say that, Eric?" Horatio knelt down beside Kojak and gently rubbed his ears.

Delko hesitated. "Some people aren't going to like this."

Without looking up, Horatio replied, "You just let me worry about that."

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The elevator doors opened with a resounding ping as Horatio and Kojak step out into the lobby of the Miami Dade forensics lab. The officer at the reception desk looked that the lieutenant doubtfully as she handed him his messages, but didn't say anything.

Trying not to draw to much attention, Horatio led Kojak downstairs to the locker room. It was in between shift changes, so the room was fairly empty. Walking down the rows of lockers, Horatio stopped when he came to his own. Ordering Kojak to sit, he pulled out a comb, a bottle of water and a small pocket knife.

"Alright Kojak, let's see if we can't do something with what little we have." Horatio straddled the bench dividing the rows of lockers. "Up." Kojak neatly stepped up onto the bench in front of Horatio and sat down.

Gently at first, Horatio began to wet down the dogs thick fur and comb through it. When Kojak showed no signs of displeasure, he took out the knife and an attempted to remove a few of the bigger clumps of fur. "With all this dirt on you who can tell what kind of dog you really are. You just might turn to be a poodle." Horatio smiled as Kojak thumped his tail in reply.

Horatio was at it just over half an hour before he was interrupted. "Horatio?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh there you are." Alexx smiled as she popped her head around the corner. "So the rumors are true then. I wasn't sure so I thought I'd come see for myself." Alexx sat herself down behind Kojak and started running her hand through his fur. "He's a nice animal Horatio."

"Yeah he is. Or at least he will be once I get him cleaned up," sighed Horatio as he attempted to comb out another clump of fur.

"I may have something that will help." Alexx got up and moved over to her locker. After riffling around on the top self, she came back with a brush and a pair of scissors. "He can keep the brush; it's an old one anyways." Horatio nodded in thanks as switched from the comb to the brush.

"Horatio, what exactly are you up too?" Horatio looked up in mild surprise as Alexx sank back down onto the bench.

"He's evidence, Alexx."

"Un-huh." Alexx crossed her arms across her chest. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"

Horatio gave a small half shrug as he bushed out the fur down Kojak's back. "It's the truth. If I had let Animal Control take him it would have been destroying evidence."

"Ah! Now I see," Alexx leaned forward so that Horatio would look at her. "And what are you going to do after this cases if finished. Put him in evidence lock up with the rest of the trace and DNA samples?"

Horatio smiled and shook his head. "I'll think of something."

Alexx sat back and sighed. "You're only delaying the inevitable, honey. Real soon, the rumors will reach someone who won't like what they hear, Horatio. Animal Control will just come back and this time you won't be able to stop them."

"I'll stop them."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Just have a little faith, Alexx." Horatio sat back and smiled. "There, that looks much better now, doesn't it?"

Alexx sighed and rubbed the dog's shoulders. Horatio had made up he's mind, even if she didn't totally agree with the decision, she trusted him and she would stand by him. "He's beautiful," she agreed. "What's his name anyways?"

"Kojak."

Alexx laughed as she took the German Shepherd's head in her hands and looked into his big brown eyes. "Who loves ya, baby."


	2. Chapter 2

Horatio was sitting in his office when Delko found him. Rapping his knuckles on the door as he entered, he noticed Kojak lying on the floor in front of the desk happily chewing on an empty pop bottle. "Hey H, we got back the results from the trace you found on the dog."

Horatio put aside the pile of forms he was working on and looked up. "What did you get?" Delko tossed the file onto the desk for Horatio to look at.

"The blood on his fur was a match to the victims, but the flesh from his teeth was from an unknown, probably the killer."

Horatio nodded as he scanned the file. "That makes sense since the victim didn't have any bite marks, probably tried to defend his master. Looks like you're only witness to the murder Kojak." Kojak looked up at the sound of name and gave a soft woof. "Did you have any luck on the prints?"

Delko sighed in frustration. "No. We got about two dozens usable prints from that house. We know that they are all from the same person but haven't gotten any hits in any of the data bases. Apparently this guy just isn't in the system."

"Don't worry Eric. That will change." Horatio flipped the file closed and handed it back to Delko. "Have you looked into Mr. Walt's business interests?"

Delko shrugged, "Calleigh is looking into that now. The guy looks to be quite wealthy, but we're still not sure where his money comes from. We haven't found any records of employment, yet he's got some offshore bank accounts. This guy doesn't seem to have any outstanding debt, any business associates, or any family for that matter." Delko sighed in frustration. "How are we suppose to find out who is killer is if we can't even find out who _he_ is."

"Don't worry Eric. All we have to do it follow the evidence."

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It was just after noon and the lab was quite now that the most of the techs had gone for lunch. Horatio sat in the trace lab absently punching at a computer. Kojak sat beside him watching his fingers tap the keys.

With a groan Horatio lend back and stretched. His hand strayed to Kojak's head as he looked over his work. Kojak happily thumped his tail on the floor at the attention. Horatio looked down and smiled at him. Casually, he began to rub his ears, neck and shoulders. Kojak certainly had big shoulders and thick ruff too. _Shoulders._ Horatio suddenly stop stroking as the thought strike him.

Hopping off his chair, he dug the Power Tracker multi tag reader out from the equipment cabinet. Smoothly, he began to glide the Power Tracker over Kojak's shoulders. He was immediately rewarded with a chirp as it found the identification microchip. Instantly a file popped up on the computer screen.

_Owner's Name: Marcus Cartwright, Sgt. _

_Address: 1021 Laurence Street _

_Miami FL, 33139 Phone: (305) 555-0159_

_Pet Name: Kojak, Sex: M, D.O.B 1/26/99_

_Species: Dog Y German Shepherd Brown and Black_

_Antirobe, anipry 30ng, amoxicillin, hor de vac, Fel-o-vac, Iresadern_

_Veterinarian's Information_

_Dr. Deirdre Killelea_

_Killelea, Deirdre DVM 15 Cardinal Park Pueblo Benito_

_(719) 555-0196_

_Notes:_

_Service Animal: Miami Dade Police Department K-9 Unit- medically discharged 4/02/01_

"You were a police dog." Horatio turned and looked at Kojak. "How then, did you end up with Walt?" Kojak thumped his tail has Horatio scratched his ears. "I wonder if Sgt Cartwright could tell us." With a couple of clicks he printed out Kojak's file.

"Hey H!" Horatio turned to see Maxine Valera pop her head through the door. "I just saw Sgt Stetler from Internal Affairs down in the parking lot and I think he's on his way up. Thought you might like the heads up."

"Thank you Miss Valera." Maxine smile then headed to the DNA lab. Horatio let out a sigh. Rick Stetler. Of course it would be him. "Kojak, I think it's about time we went out for a walk, don't you?"

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Delko rush into the gun lab and almost crashed into Calleigh. "Whoa! Hold on there. What's ya hurry?"

"Sorry Calleigh," apologized Delko. "Have you seen Horatio?"

Calleigh half shrugged as she put away the ballistics evidence she had been analyzing. "Saw him heading out back not long ago. Said something about taking the dog for a walk. Why?"

"Just thought he'd like to see what Tyler got off of Walt's computer."

Calleigh's head shot up. "What? I want to see!"

Delko laughed, "You will, but you have to tell me what you got from Walt's banking records."

Calleigh frowned and placed on her hips. "Now that ain't fair." Delko just snickered. "Oh all right. It's not like I've got much anyways." With a deep sigh, Calleigh brought of a file on her computer screen. "The only thing of any interest is the deposits into his off shore accounts. They're all in sums of no less then 50 thousand and there doesn't seem to be any schedule of any sort. They just sort of happen at random as far as I can tell. I'll admit, it looks kind'a suspicious, but without knowing who's on the other end of the deposits, the info really doesn't do us much good."

"Well, I just might be able to help with that." Delko smiled as he placed the file folder into Calleigh's eagerly awaiting hands.

"Oh my!" Calleigh flipped through the contents with shock and a hint of embarrassment. The folder was full of photos, phone transcripts and sent emails, all of an explicit nature. "There is certainly a lot of dirty laundry here! Whose is it?"

"Not our vic's, that's for sure," answered Delko. "As far as Tyler could tell, there are photos, emails, and phone calls centering around about a dozen different people. In a word: Blackmail. Tyler's trying to see if he can get any I.D's from this stuff."

"At least we know where his money comes from," said Calleigh as she snapped the folder shut.

"And why someone would want to kill him."


	3. Chapter 3

The warm Miami sunshine felt refreshing as Horatio and Kojak strolled through the park. Ducks happily paddled around the pond. A couple of old men sat at a picnic table playing chess. A group of children squealed with delight as they chased each other on the soft grass. Horatio smiled as he watched them.

Kojak was enjoying the park too, with ears pricked forward and noses sniffing the air. There where so many things that he wanted to investigate and he strained against the invisible lead that kept him close to Horatio.

Suddenly a small group of screaming children came rushing up from behind. "Hey mister! Can we pet your dog?" Kojak started at the sudden rush and backed up into Horatio's legs. Horatio quickly knelt down and put a firm hand on the Shepherd's shoulders.

"Yes you can," replied Horatio. "But you have to be calm and gentle. Okay?" The kids nodded and began to stroke the dog's head. Kojak timidly licked at their fingers as Horatio firmly held him in the sit position.

"He's a cute dog," said a little girl. "Does he do any tricks?"

"Yeah, can he play fetch?" A boy picked up a stick and threw it onto the grass.

Horatio gave the dogs shoulder a soft slap and whispered, "Go get it." Kojak turned and gave Horatio a bored look as if to say, "oh please…" before trotting off to retrieve the stick. Horatio chuckled. Perhaps Kojak was a little old to be play fetch.

After Kojak had fetched the stick a couple of times, the children ran off in search of some new adventure. So Horatio and Kojak wandered down towards the pond. "Care to go for a swim Kojak?" Kojak stared up at him, unsure of what he was asking. "Go on." Horatio motioned towards the water.

That, apparently, was the right command. Kojak bounded into the murky pond with a huge splash. Startled ducks immediately streaked across the water to the far shore and Kojak joyously gave chase. Horatio laughed as he settled himself on a bench to watch the Shepherd as he darted up and down the edge of the pond in pursuit of ducks.

He is such a great dog, thought Horatio. Surly he could find a good home for this wonderful animal. How does a police dog end up with a man like Walt? There is one person that might know. Horatio pulled out the copy of Kojak's file and his cell phone from his jacket pocket.

"_Hello?"_

"Hi there, is this Sergeant Marcus Cartwright?"

"_It certainly is."_

"This is Lt. Horatio Caine, I'm with the Miami crime lab."

"_What can I do for you Lieutenant?"_

"Do you own a dog by the name of Kojak?"

"_I used too, but I haven't owned him for, oh I don't know, five years or so. Why?"_

"We found him at murder scene and I was wondering how he may have ended up there."

"_A murder scene? You gotta be kidding me."_

"I'm afraid not Sergeant."

"_Well…I'll tell you as much as I know, which isn't much. I'm with the K-9 unit and I was given Kojak to train as my partner. I had been training him for two years when the vet found that he had developed early arthritis in his knee. He was immediately retired from the unit. He was adopted out to a family soon after."_

"You didn't keep him?"

"_Lieutenant Caine, I already own two of my now retired dogs, plus my current partner. As much as I'd like to keep all the dogs that come through my home, I just can't. Kojak is not the first dog the department has had to adopt out. Some dogs just don't make it through training and Kojak was one."_

"What was he being trained for?"

"_Search and rescue mostly."_

"And you say you gave him to a family?"

"_Yeah. Why? Was it someone else you found him with?"_

"Yes, a single man."

"_Well I can't explain that. The family probably had to give him up. Shame. It's not good for dogs to be bounced around like that. They really need a home."_

"Yes they do." Horatio thanked the Sergeant and snapped his phone shut.

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"What do you mean he's not here? Where is he?" The receptionist shrugged apologetically has Rick Stetler snapped at her.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know where he is. You could try calling him on his cell."

Stetler turned away with disgust. As if he hadn't already tried to call him, it always went straight to voice mail. Caine knows he's here and has decided to hide. Just goes to prove the he's got something worth hiding.

The elevator doors opened and Stetler turned to see Horatio step out, follow by a muddy German Shepherd and the smell of wet dog.

"Agent Stetler," Horatio announced flatly. "Nice to see you again."

Stetler looked at the dog and wrinkled his nose. "I see the rumors about the dog are true."

Horatio turned his shoulder to Stetler and looked down at Kojak. "That depends on what they are saying about him."

"Caine, by booking this animal in as evidence you are compromising the creditability of this lab and that is something that…"

"I'm not booking him as evidence," Horatio cut in.

The comment hit Stetler right in the middle of his stride and he was momentarily stunned. "You're not?"

"Nope." Horatio fingered his sunglasses as he looked up at Steltler. "I'm listing him as a witness."

Horatio was satisfied to see that Stetler was speechless. "But... you…Horatio have you lost your mind! It's a dog! It can't be a witness!"

"Actually Rick, Kojak is a trained police dog and he may be able to help us ID the killer."

"A police dog?" Stetler asked incredulously. "Where's his handler?"

"He doesn't have one. He's retired from the force. He current owner was the murder victim."

For a moment Horatio thought that Stetler's head might explode. "A retired mutt as a material murder witness. Horatio you have gone to far this time. I'm calling Animal Control right now and…"

"You know what Rick," hissed Horatio. "If you don't like it, talk to the D.A. But right now this _mutt_ is staying right here. Come Kojak." Horatio headed purposely towards his office with Kojak following at his heels, leaving a seething Rick Stetler to stock to the over to the elevator.


	4. Chapter 4

"No, that's alright. Thanks anyways Bill."

Calleigh walked into Horatio's office just in time to hear him sigh in frustration has he hung up the phone.

"Hey hansom. Something wrong?"

Horatio looked up from his phone as if he was just noticing her. "Uh? Oh, no. I've just been making some phone calls trying to find a home for Kojak."

Calleigh slid into the chair across from Horatio. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard. He's a great dog."

"That's what everyone's been saying," said Horatio bitterly. "If I don't find someone to take him Animal Control is going to take him away." Horatio paused and looked a Calleigh. "You like animals, don't you Calleigh?"

"Okay, now I know you're desperate," Calleigh laughed. "But seriously Horatio, I barely have time to take care of a house plant, let alone a dog. I work and a have a busy social life. It wouldn't be fair to leave him alone all the time like that. Have you asked Alexx? A family might be good for Kojak."

Horatio nodded, "I asked her first. She says she has a hard enough time getting her kids to just look after the cat." Horatio sighed again. "I just have to keep looking. Anyways, is there something that you wanted?"

"Not really," Calleigh handed him a file. "Just thought that I'd let you know that we've rounded up what we think are all of Henry Walt's blackmail victims. There are 10 of them in total. Delko and I are going to question each of them tomorrow. Perhaps Kojak could sit in. Dogs are pretty good at recognizing people."

"That's a good idea Calleigh." Horatio handed back the file of names. "We'll be there."

Calleigh smiled and moved to leave. "Well, I guess I'll call it a day. What are you going to do with the dog tonight?"

Horatio looked down at Kojak sitting at his feet. "I guess I'll have to take him home with me."

Calleigh just grinned as she walked out the door.

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*Clink*

Horatio tossed his keys onto the side table as he came through the door. It had been a long day and it felt good to be home. Kojak followed him into the house, cautiously checking out yet another new surrounding. Horatio just chuckled and gave the big dog's head a rub as he walked over to the fridge.

"What do you think we should have for supper, Kojak?" Kojak momentarily paused his investigating to watch Horatio open the refrigerator door. "Huh. It doesn't look like I've had time to go grocery shopping." Kojak wandered over and stuck his head in the fridge to see what Horatio was looking at. "I don't think that there's anything in there for you either." The big dog just snorted and moved off to see what was in the living room. Horatio swung the door closed and thought for a moment. "Tell you what we'll do," Horatio called through into the living room. Kojak's ears perked up, but the dog didn't stop sniffing around the coffee table. "I'll go get changed and then you and I can take a walk to the store and pick up some food for both of us. How does that sound?" Kojak just let out a sneeze in response. "I guess I'll take that as a yes."

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*Clink*

Horatio struggled through the door with an armload of groceries little more then 30 minutes later. He had been a little worried about leaving Kojak sitting outside the store alone without any leash to tie him up with, but the big German Shepherd had waited patiently for him without any problems.

Moving to the kitchen, Horatio began to unpack his purchases. Eggs, ham, green pepper, and cheese: all the fixing for a world class omelet. In the other shopping bag was Kojak's dinner: dog chow and a rawhide bone for dessert.

Horatio got down two large soup bowls from the cupboard. "I'm sorry that I don't have proper food and water dishes for you. These will just have to do," he said as he set the food and water down on the floor. As soon as Horatio's hands were clear, Kojak drove his head into the food dish and began chomping up the kibble. Horatio just smiled as he put the rest of the dog food under the sink for later.

However, it didn't take long for Kojak to finish inhaling his supper. Horatio was only about half done making his omelet when Kojak started whining and scratching at the door below the sink. "Hey, stop that." Horatio grabbed the rawhide bone off the counter and held it out to Kojak. "You go and have this and leave my cupboards alone, alright?" Kojak gently took the bone from Horatio's hand and went and sat down on the living room floor. Horatio followed him soon after with fresh omelet in hand. Turning on the news, he sat down on the couch to eat. Kojak was just licking up the last of the crumbs from is bone when Horatio looked over. "Well you certainly made short work of that!" Kojak cocked his head as he licked his lips.

Horatio had just finished eating when he heard scratching coming from the kitchen. "Kojak, come here." The Shepherd slunk sullenly back into the living room. Horatio fixed him with a hard stare. "I told you not to do that. You just stay right here with me. Stay." Kojak flattened his ears in displeasure and curled up on the floor. But as soon as Horatio's attention had turned back to the TV, Kojak crawled back into the kitchen.

*scratch scratch scratch*

"Kojak! No!" Horatio stormed into the kitchen moving to swat the dog on the rump. "Bad Dog!" Kojak startled back into the cupboard with a yelp and a crash then scrambled under the kitchen table, toenails clicking and sliding on the linoleum as he went.

Horatio felt immediately ashamed. Getting down on his knees, he saw Kojak peering out at him from in amongst the chair legs. For a moment Horatio was transported back to the dirty garden shed this morning. "I guess it's safe to say that Walt wasn't a kind man," Horatio said quietly to himself. "I'm sorry Kojak. I didn't mean to scare you." Kojak let out a small whimper and Horatio silently cursed himself. "I'm sorry, it wasn't fair of me to yell at you. You can't help it if you're hungry." Horatio heard the dog's tail start to thump softly against the floor, but the dog' eyes still looked frightened. Horatio sighed with frustration. "After all, you were locked up most of yesterday and spent all day today as the crime lab. I guess I just didn't think about the when the last time you had eaten was. Come on out and I'll make it up to you." Horatio slowly reached his hand in under the table. "Come on Kojak. I'm not going you hurt you. Come on out." Slowly, Kojak belly crawled out from under table and into Horatio's lap, accidentally pushing him over onto his backside. Horatio just smiled as he put his arms around the dog's broad shoulders and pulled him close. "My old man use to hurt me too. I know what it's like to be hurt and I will never hurt you. Never." Kojak licked the man's face in understanding and Horatio hugged him tighter. For a minute, they just sat together on the floor, each needing the other.


	5. Chapter 5

"Good morning Miss Duquesne." Calleigh looked up and smiled as Horatio and Kojak entered the interrogation room where she was organizing papers.

"Hey Hansom. Did y'all have a good night last night?"

Horatio looks down at Kojak and smiled softly. "We did."

"Well that's good," replied Calleigh as she went back to shuffling her papers. They were the files on the all of Henry Walt's victims. "We've set up the interviews appointment style. We've scheduled about a half hour for each and there are ten of them. It will probably take most of the day to get through them all, but hopefully we'll be able to a fix on the killer and Kojak will be able to spend tonight in a real home."

A real home. Wasn't his a real home? Horatio knew that Calleigh didn't really mean anything by it, but the comment still stung.

Horatio was trying to formulate a reply, but was mercifully interrupted when Delko walked in.

"Our first blackmail victim is here." Delko picked up a file from the top of Calleigh's pile. "Mr. Harvey Turner. Walt had explicit photos of him having relations with a number of different women."

Horatio put his hands on his hips, pushing his jacket back so that his badge showed. "Let's get started then."

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"Mr. Turner, do you know this man?" Delko slid Walt's head shot across the table to the balding middle aged man.

Harvey Turner glanced at the photo for a moment before shaking his head nervously. "N-no. No I don't know that man. Why?" The man looked over at Horatio and Kojak, obviously confused by the dog's presence.

"Mr. Turner," said Calleigh softly, drawing the man's attention to her. "When we called you, you confessed to being blackmailed. Did you ever meet with the man who was doing it?"

Turner shook his head again. "No. One day I got an envelope at work. It was filled with pictures of me… associating with…ladies of the night. The note attached said to pay $50 000 or the pictures would be sent to my wife and at the bottom there was a number to an off shore bank account."

"Did you pay it?" asked Calleigh.

Turner nodded his head vigorously. "I paid it right away. I didn't want my wife to find out about it. The next day, I was sent the negatives. I though it was all over then."

Delko looked at the man puzzled. "But it wasn't?"

"No. Not soon after, I want out with another…lady. The next morning I got photos of her and I in the mail. Same note as before. So I paid again. It happened one more time after that before I finally stopped going out with my…ladies."

There was a slight pause after Turner finished his statement before Horatio asked, "What is it that you do that you can afford so many pay-offs?"

Turner sat up a little straighter in his chair. "I own an IT consulting company," he said with pride. "We set up computer networks for large offices."

Horatio nodded in understanding, "You must do quite well for your self then."

"Yes, and I pay my taxes," replied Turner a little defensively.

"But you never had any contact with your blackmailer?" asked Delko, bring the conversation back to the point.

"Only through the mail," replied Turner. "There was never a name or address on the envelope. Just the account number."

"Alright. Thank you for your help Mr. Turner." Calleigh stood up and shook his hand. "There's an officer outside. If you'd just go with him so that we can take your finger prints, you'll be free to go."

Turner thanked them all with a nervous smile, and left with the officer.

"Well that didn't tell us anything new." Delko swung out of his chair and turned to look out the window.

"And Kojak didn't seem to recognize him," replied Calleigh. Kojak looked up and yawned. "But ya couldn't have thought that he'd get 'em on the first try now could ya?"

Delko shrugged in half hearted consent then went to call in the next interview.

The next interview went much like the first. So did the next one. And the next. As the interviews went by, the stories begin to get monotonous. No one had ever had any contact with Walts. None of them had known his name until the police had contacted them. All were fairly wealthy. All had alibis. Kojak had even fallen asleep under Horatio's chair.

"Well this was a giant dead end," snorted Delko in frustration. "We've been at this all day!"

"Calm down, we still have one more person to go," soothed Calleigh. "Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky."

Delko just shrugged his shoulders has he pulled the last suspect file towards him. "Our last blackmail victim is a woman named Kathryn Brady. She was caught having an affair with a man other then her husband."

Horatio stood up, rousting Kojak from his doze. "Let's bring her in then."

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"I don't know why you're talking to me. I didn't kill any body." Kathryn Brady sat with her arms crossed and a disapproving scowl on her face. Her long brown hair hung long down her back and her healthy skin glowed golden brown from the Miami sunshine.

"That may be, but we'd still like to rule you out as a suspect," said Delko in his best cop voice. Kathryn just stuck out her lip in a sexy pout. Delko pretended not to notice. "What can you tell me about the man who was blackmailing you?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes before answering. "Nothing. I never meet the guy. He just sent his stupid little notes through the mail. Must have been some old guy though. I mean, who uses snail-mail anymore."

Delko ignored her comment and continued. "Where did you get the money for the payoff?"

"I didn't," she replied, clicking her polished nails on the table. All three CSI's sat up a little straighter; their full attention on the young woman.

"How do you mean?" asked Horatio.

"I mean I didn't get him any money. I never paid him off."

"Weren't you worried that he would inform your husband about your actions?" asked Calleigh.

Kathryn giggled as if Calleigh had just told a dirty joke. "Mitch? Please. He already knows all about 'my actions.' That fool follows me everywhere thinking that he's being sneaky. But I know that he's there, and I don't care. He's never said anything. He's too much in love with me. No doubt he blames himself for me running off. He always does."

Calleigh shared a surprised glance with Delko before asking, "Did your husband say anything about getting photos of you?"

Kathryn shook her head and smiled. "Mitch and I hardly ever talk, when we do, it's usually Mitch just fawning over me and declaring his undying love. What a loser."

"Then why do you stay with him?" asked Delko, genuinely curious.

Kathryn held up her hand and rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. "Money," she answered. "Mitch is an investment banker. We have a house on Star Island. Every year I get a new sports car that I take shopping every day. And to get all this, all I have to do is live with a man who treats me like I'm a goddess. Don't tell me that it's not worth it." Kathryn sat back her chair with a grin.

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Delko walked out the front doors of the Lab and took a deep breath of Miami air. He spotted Horatio and Calleigh sitting on one of the benches and moved over to join them. Kojak was a few yards away sniffing around the shrubs and grass on the Lab's front lawn.

"Hey Eric!" greeted Calleigh with a warm smile.

"Hey," answered Delko as he dropped himself down beside her. "I just dropped Kathryn Brady off at finger printing, but I doubt her prints will match any of the ones we found at the crime scene."

Calleigh nodded in agreement. "She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be willing to do a messy a job as murder. Plus, she doesn't even have any motive. Walt's photos didn't threaten her in the least."

Delko let out a sharp bitter laugh. "So now we're back to having no suspects. Where are we supposed to go to from here?"

Calleigh sat back and stretched. "Well, we could try going back to the-" Calleigh broke off as a large white van caught her eye. Following the van was a black Towncar with tinted window. She watched as the pair of vehicles turned into the parking lot. "Horatio."

Horatio looked up from where he had been watching Kojak as the two vehicles pulled up near them. "Kojak." Horatio calmly called Kojak to his side as he stood to see Stetler emerge from the Towncar.

"Horatio," Stetler called as is strode up to meet the Lieutenant. There was a big smile on his face and a definite spring in his step. "I'm sorry to hear that your interviews didn't go so well. Apparently your 'witness' failed to identify anyone. That's really too bad Horatio."

Horatio gave Stetler a steely stare before slipping on his sunglasses. "Rick, we haven't even been out of that interrogation room for more then ten minutes."

"Internal affairs prides its self on its fast action." Stetler looked so smug that it was all Horatio could do to not break his jaw. "But seriously Horatio, I let you have your fun, now its time to turn the animal over to Animal Control."

"So he can be destroyed."

"I don't make the rules Horatio." Stetler reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded paper and handed it to Horatio "It's a letter from a judge giving me authorization to take the dog.

Horatio opened the letter and begin to scan it. It was just as Stetler said. The judge had given Stetler custody of the dog so that he could be handed over to Animal Control. Horatio found himself grinding his teeth in rage and frustration.

"Come on dog. It's time to go." Kojak looked at Stetler but didn't move. "Come dog!" The big German Shepherd just yawned and turned away to look at something else across the parking lot. Annoyed, Stetler glared at Horatio. "I thought you said that this dog was well trained."

Horatio just shrugged. "He's also a good judge of character." Stetler just sneered as he reached for the dog.

Just has he was about to grab the Shepherd's thick ruff, Kojak let out a loud growl and started barking. Stetler jumped away from the dog in fright, but Kojak wasn't interested in him.

Horatio turned to see Kathryn Brady walk out of the Lab and head towards a man standing beside an idling car. There was no one else in the lot. What was Kojak barking at? "Kojak?" Horatio reached down to try and calm him. Too late, Kojak bolted and charged towards the man standing beside the car. The strange man looked up in alarm before taking off across the pavement.

"Stop right there!" yelled Horatio. Drawing his gun, Horatio ran after the fleeing man. From somewhere behind him he heard Kathryn scream the name of her husband. In front of him, Horatio watched as the man crashed through one of the hedges lining the parking lot. Kojak nimbly leapt over it a few steps behind.

By the time Horatio made it past the hedge, Kojak was nowhere to be seen. Horatio scanned the area with his gun. He was standing in a small park where many of the lab's employees took their breaks. The green space was empty now. Horatio could hear someone crashing through the hedge behind him. Horatio spun around and found himself aiming directly at a winded Stetler.

"Where did they go?" panted Stetler. Horatio ignored him as he continued to scan for any indication of there the chase may have gone. "What a stupid animal! I thought you said it was a police dog. Police dogs don't go around attacking perfectly innocent people. If you had just-"

"Be quite Rick!" snapped Horatio.

"Hey you can't just go around-"

"I said shut up!" Horatio cocked his head, not paying any attention to Stetler. He thought he had heard something. Yes, there it was again. A barking sound was coming from around the side of the building.

With his gun held out in front of him Horatio rushed across the lawn and twisted around the corner. There was Kojak with who must have been Kathryn Brady's husband Mitch. Mitch was backed up against a wall welding a stout tree branch. Kojak was dancing around him barking and snapping.

"Stop!" Horatio shouted. Mitch just cursed as he brandished the stick, managing to strike a blow to the side of Kojak's head. Horatio caught his breath as Kojak stumbled for a moment. Mitch swung again, but this time Kojak made a leap for the branch, catching it in his jaws. Mitch was thrown off balance as the Shepherd yanked and shook the crude weapon, but he managed to hang on. With another load curse, Mitch kicked out and caught Kojak in the shoulder, but the big Shepherd didn't let go. With a fierce snarl, Kojak threw all his weight backwards, yanking the man clean off his feet.

Kojak was on him in a second, and so was Horatio. "Stop, Kojak, Stop!" With one hand still pointing his gun at Mitch, Horatio attempted to pull off Kojak.

"Get this thing off me!" The prone man was screaming.

"Off, Kojak, get off of him. We've got him." Still barking and snarling, Kojak moved off behind Horatio.

"I thought that animal was going to kill me! Whose dog is that? I'm going to sue!" spat the man as he tried to raise himself. Holstering his gun, Horatio none too gently hauled the man to his feet. As he did, Mitch's shirt sleeve slipped down his arm revealing a partially healed bite wound.

"Where did you get this nasty bite Mr. Brady?" asked Horatio.

"What? I don't know. The dog must have done it."

Horatio smiled dangerously at Mitch. "That I don't doubt. Seems you and Kojak have met before."

Mitch eyed him suspiciously. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means," said Horatio as he spun him around to but put a pair of cuffs on. "It means, that you are under arrest for the murder of Henry Walt."

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Once again, the three CSI's where back in the interrogation room. Horatio had had to get Alexx to take Kojak outside because the big dog wouldn't stop growling at the suspect.

Mitch Brady was seated across the table looking enraged. "I get attacked by some mad dog and this is how I'm treated!"

Delko shrugged his shoulders. "We though you'd be use to it. After all, this isn't the first time you where attacked by a dog."

Mitch crossed his arms defensively "I don't know what you're talking about."

Calleigh started laying out papers for Brady to see. "You needn't bother acting dumb. We've already got everything we need to convict you with first degree murder. You're bloody finger prints are all over Mr. Walt's living room. The flesh we found in the dog's teeth is a match to your DNA. Your epithelials were even found on the dog's collar.'

'It probably went down like this: you went to Walt's house and got into a fight with him. As you were stabbing him, the dog rushes in and attacks you, causing that bite on your arm. Somehow, you manage get a hold of the dog's collar and you drag him out to shed and lock him up."

"There's just one thing I don't understand," asked Delko. "How did you find out about this guy? And why kill him?"

Brady looked from one CSI to the other then nodded his head. "When my wife went out, I'd follow her. I knew all about the other men she was seeing. Tore me up inside to know that I wasn't enough for her. She's princess you know, she needs so much, and no matter how hard I try, it's not enough. I'm just lucky she doesn't leave me.'

'But as I followed her, I noticed this other guy. I didn't know who he was, but kept showing up whenever I was watching Kathryn. It wasn't until I got the photos in the mail that I realized what he was up too.'

'That man was trying to _blackmail_ my wife. She must have been worried sick about it. She didn't want me to find out what she was doing. She thought she couldn't ask for the money. I would have given it to her. I would have given her anything asked for.'

'But that man…that fact that he would put my wife through that…so one day I followed him home. He needed to know that no one ever hurts my Kathryn. It would have been easy too, if it wasn't for that stupid dog. I should have just killed it too."

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Horatio stepped into the break room to find Alexx sitting reading a magazine. Alexx looked up and smiled.

"Hey sugar, you get the confession you wanted?"

Horatio returned her warm smile. "Sure did. Never could have done it without Kojak." Horatio looked around and was slightly puzzled. "Where is Kojak?"

Alexx smile fell a little. "Stetler came and got him."

Horatio head snapped up, "What?"

"He said that now that the case was over, Animal Control had to take him."

"And you just let him walk out of here with him?"

Alexx stood up and reached for Horatio. "I'm sorry baby, but what could I do? I'm an M.E. I have no authority over these things."

"I know Alexx. I'm sorry. When did he leave?"

"Not two mintues ago. Maybe it's for the best Horatio."

Without a word, Horatio spun away from Alexx rushed to the elevator.

Sprinting out the door and down the steps, Horatio was just in time to see the white Animal Control van swing out of the parking lot and into traffic.

On the outside, Horatio looked calm, but inside his emotions were a seething mass of frustration and heartbreak.

"I'm sorry Horatio, but we both knew that it had to be this way." Horatio spun around to find Stetler standing a few feet behind him.

Horatio moved to within inches of Stetler and looked up at him menacingly. Stetler stepped back uneasily. "You are just lucky that I don't have time to deal with you right now," Horatio growled. Putting on his sunglasses, Horatio turned and marched over to his Hummer, leaving a sputtering Stetler in his wake.

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"We got your call, but we're not sure exactly what animal you're looking for. It may already be too late."

Horatio stood in front of the desk at the animal shelter trying his best to hide is frustration. It wasn't this girls fault after all.

"I understand. Could I have a look in your kennels please?"

The girl looked a little undecided. "We're actually just about to close. We're not supposed to let visitors in this late. Could you come back tomorrow?"

Horatio unclipped his badge and showed it to the girl. "Please Miss, it's important."

The young girl thought for a moment then nodded. "As long as it will only take a second." The girl opened the door to the long hallway kennels.

Trying to stay calm, Horatio walked down the hall, looking into each of the cages. Everyone one of them was full. There where terriers, lab, shiatsus and all kinds of mutts. Some of the dogs were pups, but most were full grown.

Horatio was beginning to get anxious as he neared the end of the row. What if he was too late? What if Animal Control didn't bother to bring him here at all? After he had promised Kojak that no one would hurt him.

Finally at the last pen, Horatio saw him. Slowly, he knelt down next to the familiar brown body. A pink tongue gently licked his fingers and he could hear the thump of a tail hitting against the floor. "This one," he called to the girl. His blue eyes met soft brown ones. "This is my dog."


End file.
